80-year-old skips meals for online ‘United Nations lover’, loses life savings

A woman sought help on local online forum LIHKG on Tuesday, saying her 80-year-old grandmother is suspected of falling victim to a romance scam, with increasingly extreme behavior including spending all her savings on an “online lover” and even fasting to save money for him.

The post quickly sparked widespread discussion among netizens.

According to the woman, her grandmother met a man online who is believed to be a professional scammer. Since then, she has become deeply attached to the relationship and has been sending him money continuously, even taking out loans amounting to hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars. Although the family has helped repay the debt, they recently discovered that she has not cut ties with the man.

In an attempt to prevent further losses, the family has taken measures such as restricting her bank account and reducing her monthly expenses to HK$1,000. However, they found that the grandmother would rather go hungry than stop using the money to buy prepaid point cards for the man.

The man reportedly claimed he had once been detained by the United Nations and has changed his profile picture multiple times. While the poster suspects the images may be AI-generated, her grandmother remains convinced of his identity.

“Will she keep being scammed until she dies?” the poster wrote.

She added that her grandmother has begun treating family members as enemies and refuses to believe their warnings. She also expressed concern that a flat registered under her grandmother’s name could eventually be sold.

Many netizens said elderly people are particularly vulnerable to scams due to loneliness, noting that “they would rather spend money to buy into a fantasy.”

Some urged families to pay closer attention to the emotional needs of elderly relatives to reduce the risk of them falling prey to scams. Others offered practical suggestions.

“The most important thing now is to safeguard her assets, especially the flat,” one comment read.

Several netizens suggested cutting off the grandmother’s contact with the scammer, such as by changing her phone number or blocking the contact. Some recommended replacing her SIM card entirely, in case the scammer attempts to reconnect using different numbers.

Others pointed to “elderly loneliness” as a root cause and suggested seeking psychological or medical assessment.

Police have established multiple anti-fraud channels offering assistance to the public. Those in need can report cases directly to the police, call the “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222,” or use the “Scameter” mobile app.